SB-1193 Human trafficking: public posting requirements.(2011-2012)

Bill Start

An act to add Section 52.6 to the Civil Code, relating to human trafficking.

[
Approved by
Governor
September 24, 2012.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 24, 2012.
]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1193, Steinberg.
Human trafficking: public posting requirements.

Existing law authorizes a victim of human trafficking, as defined, to bring a civil action for actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, any combination of those, or any other appropriate relief within 5 years of the date on which the trafficking victim was freed from the trafficking situation, or if the victim was a minor when the act of human trafficking against the victim occurred, within 8 years after the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority.

This bill would require specified businesses and other establishments, upon the availability of a model notice developed by the Department of Justice, to post a notice, as specified, that contains information related to slavery and human trafficking, including information related to specified nonprofit organizations that provide services in support of the
elimination of slavery and human trafficking. The bill would require the establishments to post the notice in a conspicuous place near the entrance of the establishment or in another conspicuous location in clear view of the public and employees where similar notices are customarily posted. The bill also would require the establishments to print the notice in English, Spanish, and in one other language that is the most widely spoken language in the county where the establishment is located and for which translation is mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act. The bill would require the Department of Justice, on or before April 1, 2013, to develop a model notice that complies with the above requirements and make the model notice available for download on the department’s Internet Web site.
The bill would provide that a business or establishment that fails to comply with these requirements is liable for a civil penalty of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. The bill would authorize the Attorney General and local prosecutorial agencies, as specified, to bring an action to impose one of these civil penalties against a business or establishment if a local or state agency with authority to regulate that business or establishment has provided notice of the violation to the business or establishment, which informs the business or establishment that it is subject to a civil penalty if it does not correct the violation within 30 days from the date the notice is sent to the business or establishment, and verified that the violation was not corrected within that 30-day period.

To the extent that the bill would impose additional duties on local government agencies, it would impose a state-mandated
local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Digest Key

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 52.6 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

52.6.

(a) Each of the following businesses and other establishments shall, upon the availability of the model notice described in subdivision (d), post a notice that complies with the requirements of this section in a conspicuous place near the public entrance of the establishment or in another conspicuous location in clear view of the public and employees where similar notices are customarily posted:

(1) On-sale general public premises licensees under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (Division 9 (commencing with Section 23000) of the Business and Professions Code).

(2) Adult or sexually oriented businesses, as defined
in subdivision (a) of Section 318.5 of the Penal Code.

(3) Primary airports, as defined in Section 47102(16) of Title 49 of the United States Code.

(9) Farm labor contractors, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1682 of the Labor Code.

(10) Privately operated job recruitment centers.

(11) Roadside rest areas.

(12) Businesses or establishments that offer massage or bodywork services for compensation and are not described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 4612 of the Business and Professions Code.

(b) The notice to be posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be at least eight and one-half inches by 11 inches in size, written in a 16-point font, and shall state the following:

“If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave—whether it is commercial sex, housework, farm work, construction, factory, retail, or restaurant work, or any other activity—call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or the California Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) at 1-888-KEY-2-FRE(EDOM) or 1-888-539-2373 to access help and services.

Victims of slavery and human trafficking are protected under United States and California law.

The hotlines are:

·

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

·

Toll-free.

·

Operated by nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations.

·

Anonymous and confidential.

·

Accessible in more than 160 languages.

·

Able to provide help, referral to services, training, and general information.”

(c) The notice to be posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be printed in English, Spanish, and in
one other language that is the most widely spoken language in the county where the establishment is located and for which translation is mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973 et seq.), as applicable. This section does not require a business or other establishment in a county where a language other than English or Spanish is the most widely spoken language to print the notice in more than one language in addition to English and Spanish.

(d) On or before April 1, 2013, the Department of Justice shall develop a model notice that complies with the requirements of this section and make the model notice available for download on the department’s Internet Web site.

(e) A business or establishment that fails to comply with the requirements of this section is liable for a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for a first offense and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense. A government entity identified in Section 17204 of the Business and Professions Code may bring an action to impose a civil penalty pursuant to this subdivision against a business or establishment if a local or state agency with authority to regulate that business or establishment has satisfied both of the following:

(1) Provided the business or establishment with reasonable notice of noncompliance, which informs the business or establishment that it is subject to a civil penalty if it does not correct the violation within 30 days from the date the
notice is sent to the business or establishment.

(2) Verified that the violation was not corrected within the 30-day period described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 2.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.